Translation by Lucina Kathmann
The article mentioned below was written by Esthela Herrera for the 6th anniversary of RETLEG: the State Network of Literary Readings in Guanajuato. RETLEG, a very active grassroots organization, has brought poetry to 42 of the 44 counties of the State of Guanajuato, several of which are very difficult to access. One county did not even have a paved road until 2024. Though the RETLEG movement has become quite important for Guanajuato, no information about it has previously been available in English.
The Literary Work of Maestro José Luis Calderón Vela Lays the Foundation for the
State Network of Literary Readings in Guanajuato.
by Esthela Herrera Onofre, Yuriria, Guanajuato
The literary work of José Luis Calderón Vela invites us to reflect on “desolate times,” walking barefoot in the rain where we find a child dressed in dreams and magic, able to touch the moon. The child grows to adolescence and “he dares to see his face in the mirror every day and laughs at himself, though the roof of his house is falling to pieces.”
In an account of “difficult years” Calderón narrates poetically his mission of watching out for the dreams of the world, where one dares to bare his/her insides, sharing the intimacy and the smell of his bedroom, the noises captured there during the night and the collapse of the walls of the house. In the ruins silence
weeps and awaits the arrival of “the colors of laughter, painting our glances with violets as when flowers are filled with life.”
Calderón Vela shows us the way, matured and cured by love and heartbreak, which brings a sensitive soul to perpetuate the human sensibility “remaining calm even under rain and thunder, because the things which have to happen in our lives will find their own place and it is vain to pursue them or run away from
them.” He keeps these dreams in an “interior trunk of atoms and molecules of permanent memory: a belief in wrapping oneself in a being with superpowers which protects us from this chaos of life.”
His spiritual values and inexhaustible search to find the meaning and purpose of life invites us in his words to “practice daily the lesson of the bee and the ant: not to do anything by chance nor even without a clear final objective, not to let anything we do stray from any other purpose than the common good.”
In these words he shows clearly his purpose which he carried out in his work of weaving a movement which would benefit many, a movement which succeeded in activating the promotion of culture in 42 counties of the state, making way for the creation of the State Network of Literary Readings in Guanajuato.
With his leadership abilities he convinced a writer or cultural promoter in every county of the state to organize cultural events, opening forums and spaces in their own area with recognized writers as well as beginners, and including musicians, painters and theater artists.
For myself, I am grateful for the circumstances in my life that led to my choosing this work that has permitted me to start the work of cultural promotion in my own county.
Maestro Calderón planted the seed in his followers that grew by itself, with a real dedication to service without any financial gain, along with a great disposition to give our work and time in benefit of many.
I am forever grateful to Maestro Calderón for instilling the values of leadership and work in transmitting and spreading the essentials for waking up society's interest in literary culture through workshops and forums of diffusion to build the better society we so need so much.
The best homage for Maestro José Luis is to continue the path of his legacy in the principles for the common good, even though it implies work without any remuneration beyond the satisfaction of serving others.
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